MMA Personalities News - Page 13

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Jessica Andrade earned the next crack at undefeated UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk with a dominant win over Angela Hill at UFC Fight Night 104.
UFC President Dana White said after Saturday’s FS1-televised event at Toyota Center in Houston that Andrade will indeed be next for the Polish titleholder.

The most tenured light heavyweight fighter in UFC history officially will be taking his talents elsewhere.
Ryan Bader (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) appears to be headed for Bellator. UFC President Dana White today told USA TODAY Sports that the promotion gave its blessing to Bader leaving for its top competitor and would not match any contract offer Bader might receive from the Viacom-owned Bellator.

On the heels of 2016’s year-end show, World Series of Fighting is returning to New York with another championship triple-header at WSOF 35 in Verona, NY. And one of the titles up for grabs on March 18 will be the bantamweight belt long held by 135-pound stud Marlon Moraes, which has since been vacated, according to the promotion.

Ricardo Abreu failed a drug test while serving a two-year suspension from USADA, but that doesn’t matter to the UFC middleweight after all.
"Demente", who is suspended until June 2018 after testing positive for anabolic steroid metabolites norandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone in June of last year, told MMA Fighting on Friday that he expected to fail a drug test and announced his decision to retire from the sport to focus on his health and family after battling depression. Combate first reported Abreu’s retirement.

It’s been a rough couple of years for Matt Brown. Like really rough.
As one of the top prospects to graduate from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7, Brown (20-16) struggled to find consistency inside the Octagon until a torrid, seven-fight win streak led him to a title eliminator against Robbie Lawler.
Then it all came crashing down.
Since then, the “Immortal” welterweight has been a wretched 1-5 run that left him finished in three consecutive losses. At age 36, with a family, that kind of slump can make a fighter question his or her career.

Thiago Tavares’ run inside the Octagon is over.
The Brazilian fighter competed under the UFC banner since 2007, and the promotion has decided not to re-sign his contract after his first-round loss to Doo Ho Choi last July, MMA Fighting has learned.

For the last few weeks, internet rumors have been circulating that ninth-ranked heavyweight Travis Browne had left Glendale Fighting Club and the tutelage of much maligned coach Edmund Tarverdyan. However, it turns out those rumors aren’t true. Recently, Browne went on ESPN’s 5ive Rounds podcast where he categorically denied the rumors and reaffirmed his relationship with Tarverdyan.

The UFC’s latest fighter rankings update has removed three quite prominent fighters from its list. Free agent Lorenz Larkin no longer being ranked may be a sign that he won’t be re-signing with the promotion, but out of left field are two names you wouldn’t have expected. MMAjunkie’s Mike Bohn reported on Wednesday that Misha Cirkunov and Rick Story are also not under UFC contract right now.

UFC President Dana White on Tuesday said after Nick Diaz turned down a rematch with ex-champ Robbie Lawler, he planned to make a fight between Diaz and welterweight contender Demian Maia.
But when Diaz turned that down, he went with an alternative: Jorge Masvidal. Now, according to Masvidal, Maia has turned that down.
Masvidal isn’t particularly bent out of shape over the refusal and welcomed a fight with any other top-tier welterweight. The issue is finding a suitable fit.
The good news is that one might already be present.

An exciting young heavyweight is facing a suspension.
Justin Ledet was flagged by USADA for a potential anti-doping violation, the UFC announced Wednesday. The Texas native likely failed a drug test, stemming from a Jan. 12 sample collection.
The name of the banned substance was not listed, as is the policy of USADA and the UFC unless the athlete names it. The name of the substance will be released following the USADA adjudication process.

Ricardo Abreu could be facing a very lengthy ban.
The UFC middleweight, already serving a doping suspension, failed another USADA drug test stemming from a Dec. 21 sample collection and is facing a second UFC anti-doping policy violation, the promotion announced Wednesday.
Abreu is less than a year into a two-year ban by USADA due to testing positive for anabolic steroid metabolites norandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone in June 2016. He is currently ineligible to compete in the UFC until July 1, 2018.
A second anti-doping violation could double Abreu’s suspension and the “aggravating circumstances” clause in the UFC anti-doping policy could lengthen the ban even more.

We’re 10 days removed from Tito Ortiz’s submission of Chael Sonnen in his retirement fight at Bellator 170, and there’s still just a little bit of talk left over for it.
After Ortiz (19-12-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) beat Sonnen (29-15-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) to tap to a choke in Bellator 170’s main event (watch the highlights above), some viewers said the only way to explain Ortiz’s win as a 2-1 underdog is that things weren’t on the up and up.
Ortiz spoke out against that, big time. So did referee John McCarthy. And on Tuesday, a defense of Ortiz’s rear-naked choke win came from what most people might consider a pretty unlikely source: UFC President Dana White.

A familiar face will return to the biggest stage in sports this weekend in Houston.
No, not Tom Brady, rather Chan Sung Jung.
"The Korean Zombie" hasn't fought in the UFC since Aug. 2013 due to mandatory military obligations in his native South Korea, but he'll finally return on Saturday night against Dennis Bermudez in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Houston.
We caught up with the popular featherweight recently via e-mail to talk about his military duties and his much-anticipated return to the UFC.

This likely won’t sit too well with the rest of the light heavyweight division.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White revealed during a recent conversation on the UFC Unfiltered podcast that former 205-pound champion Jon Jones would likely get an immediate title shot upon his return from suspension this summer.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre sent shockwaves through the mixed martial arts (MMA) community when he partnered with ex-Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney to found the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA).
During last November’s press conference, St-Pierre named UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor as an example of fighter who can make million-dollar paydays and still get shafted by the promotion.
Something “Notorious” took exception to during his recent Q&A

Count Dana White among those who thinks that Ronda Rousey is done fighting.
During an appearance on UFC Unfiltered the UFC president said he had talked to Rousey very recently, and his gut feeling after the conversation was that the transcendent former champion has fought her last time in the Octagon.

Ian McCall’s UFC comeback seems to get more and more depressing with each attempt.
The flyweight’s UFC 208 fight against Neil Seery has been scrapped. Seery announced the withdrawal via Facebook, citing the passing of his mother-in-law as his reason for pulling out of the event. A UFC official subsequently confirmed the news with MMAjunkie.
“I pulled out of my fight in 2 weeks due to losing my mother in law today sorry to everyone who bought tickets but family comes first,” Seery wrote.
There’s still a chance he competes at UFC 208, though, and company officials are actively searching for a replacement.